Our instructional mission includes undergraduate, graduate, professional, and continuing and distance education informed by scholarship and research.

Our research, scholarship, and creative activities promote human and economic development through the expansion of knowledge and its applications in the natural and applied sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities, and professions. As Pennsylvania's land-grant university, we also hold a unique responsibility to provide access, outreach, and public service to support the citizens of the Commonwealth and beyond. We engage in collaborative activities with industrial, educational, and agricultural partners here and abroad to generate, disseminate, integrate, and apply knowledge.

Penn State, founded in 1855 as an agricultural college, admitted its first class in 1859. The Pennsylvania legislature designated Penn State as the Commonwealth’s sole land-grant institution in 1863, which eventually broadened the University’s mission to include teaching, research, and public service in many academic disciplines. Penn State has awarded more than a half-million degrees, and has been Pennsylvania’s largest source of baccalaureate degrees at least since the 1930s. Although the University is privately chartered by the Commonwealth, it was from the outset considered an “instrumentality of the state,” that is, it carries out many of the functions of a public institution and promotes the general welfare of the citizenry. The Governor and other representatives of the Commonwealth have held seats on Penn State’s Board of Trustees since the University’s founding, and the legislature has made regular appropriations in support of the University’s mission since 1887.

Today Penn State is one of four “state-related” universities (along with the University of Pittsburgh, Temple University, and Lincoln University), institutions that are not state-owned and -operated but that have the character of public universities and receive state appropriations. With its administrative and research hub at the University Park campus, Penn State has 23 additional locations across Pennsylvania. While some of these locations, such as the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, have specialized academic roles, they all adhere to a common overall mission and set of core values and strategic goals.

Penn State's Graduate School is one of the largest in the nation with more than 10,000 graduate students enrolled. We take pride in being one of the largest graduate schools in the nation. In fact, the Graduate School has awarded more than 70,000 graduate degrees to date. In addition, we are proud of our exemplary faculty and high-quality degree programs, many of which are nationally ranked.

The Graduate School is committed to ensuring that all individuals regardless of ethnicity, gender, or other personal characteristics are afforded the opportunity to achieve their full potential as scholars and professionals.

For more information about Penn State University, visit http://www.psu.edu

Following are the Departments at Penn State University that are eligible to receive ARCS Foundation funding:

Graduate Program in Acoustics
Graduate Program in Ecology
Graduate Program in Plant Biology
Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, College of Engineering